Honor the earth announces new board of directors and new grant offering

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 1, 2012

Honor the Earth, a twenty year old Indigenous led environmental advocacy and re- granting organization is pleased to announce our new board of directors, and a new grants’ cycle beginning immediately.

At a September 25 meeting held on the White Earth reservation, Honor the Earth founders Winona LaDuke, Amy Ray, Emily Saliers and Cynthia Perez welcomed and seated new board members to celebrate and honor the organization’s new era of work. The new board members represent a variety of organizational and Native communities. Shannon Martin directs Ziibwing Cultural Center on the Saginaw Chippewa reservation; Paul DeMain is the Editor in Chief of News from Indian Country; Hope Medford is a percussionist for Medicine for the People, a Native rock/ folk band; Jennifer Kriesberg, is a vocalist with Ulali; Bob Gough, Secretary for the Intertribal Council on Utility Policy; and Kimberly Smith is a Dine organizer and leader for I Am Art, an Indigenous community arts organization.

Formed in l993 as a collaboration between musicians and Native American activists, Honor the Earth brought together Indigo Girls (Amy Ray and Emily Saliers) and leaders from the Indigenous Women’s Network (Winona LaDuke and Cynthia Perez) to promote awareness on Indigenous environmental and cultural issues. Honor the Earth uses media, financial resources, music and art to reaffirm our commitment to each other and the earth. The organization has held over l00 benefit concert performances, including those with the Indigo Girls, Bonnie Raitt, Medicine for the People, Jackson Browne, Keith Secola and many others, with music tours spanning from Cordova Alaska to the Penobscot reservation in Maine. Joining with the front lines of the Native environmental movement, Honor the Earth has supported work to defeat nuclear waste dump proposals (Skull Valley Goshutes), mega dam projects (James Bay, Canada), and coal bed methane on the Northern Cheyenne. Honor the Earth, with the support of these musicians, and numerous foundations and individual donors has also allocated almost $3 million in grants to organizations throughout North and Central America.

Board Co Chairs- Shannon Martin, from the Gun Lake Potowatami and Lac Courte Orielles Ojibwe, joins with Paul DeMain ( Ojibwe/Oneida) from the Lac Courte Orielles reservation to lead the organization in the upcoming years. Their fellow board members include Jennifer Kreisberg (Tuscarora), Hope Medford, Bob Gough, and Kimberly Smith (Dine), bringing a wealth of musical and artistic experience to the organization.

Honor the Earth announces a new grants round, open immediately, with a closing date of November 9. All proposals can be submitted both in hard copy to:

The Board encourages proposals on Native environmental justice, sustainable development and cultural preservation, with a grant limit of $5000. The organization’s focus will remain on sustainable Indigenous communities support, and in the upcoming year, programmatic work will focus on opposition to fossil fuels extraction and destructive mining practices.